Another Night in Gotham
by MrJeanpaul22
Summary: Boy, has it been a while! As promised, the story of the Birth of the Bat! Part 2 of my JSA: Origins story chronicles the death of the Waynes, and the birth of a hero! Up next: "Like Lightning"!


February 19th, 1925, 19 Years Ago

Gotham City, New Jersey

Chapter Two: Another Night in Gotham

Detective Callahan never liked to drive to the office in the mornings. He enjoyed the late night walks too much. Every night at ten o'clock sharp, Robert would close up shop and walk the five blocks up and two blocks over to his apartment. If the fancy struck him, he'd stop by Zamecki's and grab a couple of Ivan's famous pastries, a few for himself and a few for Beth. The night air was what really made the walk worthwhile for Robert. His side of town settled and went to sleep by the time he went home, and it allowed him some space to breathe. For being so cramped and bustling in the morning, the opportunity to relax for a few minutes was all that Robert could ask for.

If Robert had decided to leave even a few minutes later, or if he had decided to bypass Zamecki's on that one night, Officer Blake would have missed him, and he would have run right up to the door and woken up Beth, and probably Michael, too. So, later down the road as Robert looked back on this night again, he decided it was for the best that his night started off as normal. He left the office at ten o'clock exactly, and he stopped by Zamecki's and bought some of Ivan's pastries. He made his way up the steps to the door of his apartment building, when a police car sped up onto the curb, and Officer Blake stumbled out. He was clearly in a hurry, and there was a worried look on his wide eyes.

"Detective! I'm so glad I caught you! Commissioner Loeb needs you at a crime scene, _now_!" Robert turned away from the glass door and set down the pastries.

"Commissioner Loeb can't get someone else? I mean, I'm about to walk up my stairs for Pete's sake!"

"Detective, you don't understand, this ain't some regular old Joe Chill! These people are… they're…"

"They're what, Blake? Spit it out!" Officer Blake seemed exasperated, like he couldn't bring himself to say what was on his mind.

"Could you just… could you just come down, sir? It's important." Callahan dropped his head and shook it. _Christ almighty_, he thought to himself as he stepped away from the door and followed Officer Blake to the patrol car.

The ride was tense and silent. Officer Blake gave up no indication of who they were they going to see. They rode for a long time, and finally they pulled into the parking lot of a movie theatre. Callahan caught the sign out front and let out a sigh.

"Monarch?" he asked Blake. Blake nodded and Robert let out a deeper sigh. "Let's get this over with."

When they got out of the car, Callahan didn't need to be pointed in any sort of direction. He knew immediately where he was supposed to go. Robert and Blake moved to the right side of the building where a fence and gate stood. Robert pushed the gate open and stepped into the alleyway. He stopped for a moment and just took in the scene before him. _What have you done this time?_ He asked the alleyway silently, knowing he would soon find out.

Blake stepped out in front of the Detective. "It's right over this way sir." He led them out a ways into the alley, and around a corner, so they were directly behind the theatre. Callahan couldn't see the victims, as they were surrounded by first responders and reporters. Callahan walked over to the large crowd and started barking at them to back away from the scene, and when they parted, he could not believe his eyes. He knelt down where he was and removed his hat, partially out of respect for the deceased, and also because he had literally no other way to react at this moment. He looked around at the people around him, and yelled the first thing that came to his mind.

"On your knees! Everybody! Do you know who it is you're looking at? This is Thomas and Martha Wayne we're looking at here, show a little respect!"

About as soon as everyone was down, a voice boomed from behind Callahan.

"I'm sorry; you all have a job to do, don't you?" Robert watched as the first responders scrambled to get back to their jobs. "Get to it then!" Callahan stood up and turned around to see Commissioner Loeb walking over to him. Before he could get a word out, Loeb put his arm around him and began to walk with him. "Detective Callahan, a word?"

"Of – of course, sir." Loeb led Callahan out and away from the Waynes a few feet and stopped. He turned to Robert with a twisted sort of smile on his face. It was off-putting to Robert, as he had seen a smile like this on his face before, usually after he had won at a game of pool in the office break room. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"Because, Robert:" Loeb started. "Do you see that pair of bodies stewing in their own blood over there?" Those words hit Robert like a ton of bricks and made him sick to his stomach, but he didn't know why quite yet. "Those bodies have been a massive thorn in my side for a very long time. And now, my two biggest problems in the whole wide world… are gone!"

Callahan didn't hear what he had heard, to be sure. How could he possibly? The Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department had just alluded to… to…

"Commissioner Loeb, you must surely be joking." He searched Loeb's eyes for a sign that he was merely joking. But none came. All that came from the man was a cold, evil, merciless laugh.

"And why would I be, Bob?" He clapped his hand on Callahan's shoulder and shook him, lightly. "This is a fantastic night, isn't it? You know, the only thing that would have made this better was if _I_ had pulled that trigger myself, and watched the light leave those self-righteous eyes." Loeb laughed again and turned to walk away. Callahan stared at the back of Loeb's head as walked by Officer Blake and patted him on the shoulder. Blake caught sight of Robert and rushed over.

"Everything okay, sir?" he asked. Callahan continued to stare past Blake for a long while. As he thought over the scene, a dark thought passed into his mind. He grabbed Blake by the shoulders and shook him as he spoke frantically.

"The boy! The Waynes have a boy, don't they?" Blake was speechless for a few moments before he answered.

"B- Bruce, sir. He, uh… he turned eight today."

"Where is he, Mal? Where is the boy?" Robert frantically searched Blake's eyes for a sign that the answer to his question wasn't the worst scenario. Blake said no words to Detective Callahan as he stepped aside and pointed at a car parked a ways from the scene. Callahan's heart sank and his body drooped. "Has anyone talked to him yet, Mal?"

"I don't have any idea, sir." Robert nodded and reluctantly began to walk to the car. He was unprepared for what he saw in the car, as he knew he would be. He walked right up to the shattered remains of an eight-year-old who had just watched his entire world ripped away from him. His deep blue eyes were swollen and red; tears were dried on his face. Robert leaned down to speak to the boy, and he dug deep within his heart to find some words of comfort.

"Son, I don't have any idea how you're feeling. I can't tell you how… absolutely horrible this is. I _can_ tell you that I swear, on everything that I hold dear to me, I will take down the man who did this. I will right this terrible wrong. I swear that to you, Bruce."

Without waiting to see if he got through to him, Robert stood and walked away from the car. He walked back down the alleyway and out in front of the Monarch. He looked up at the glowing neon sign and sighed. The weight of infinite worlds seemed to rest on Callahan's shoulders at this moment. All that Robert could think of was how wrong this whole situation was, the injustice that had won that night. And yet, in the back of his mind, Detective Robert Callahan knew, that no matter how horrible of an event this was, it really was just another night in Gotham.


End file.
